Aine Legacy
by Razputin
Summary: Snoozers past and reason for his sleeping habit is revealed. One-Shot.


This story is told before the others, before the clubhouse was a clubhouse. Perhaps before the story you knew it came from. Our story begins in the hot afternoon on the ground near an oh, so familiar tree root, where a young hamster woman scurried to...

Aine's great blessed patch of brown fur matched the dirt beneath her pink paws perfectly while she continued her way down the hole to the cavern. A miniature makeshift lantern lightened her way to the small door, inside the room was even darker than the halls, a few stringed lights from the caverns walls burned lowly. Only enough light was made to sightly make out another hamster tiredly cuddled up in a colorful sock. Aines pastel green eyes gazed lovingly to the sleeping figure before walking over it, lifting her lantern to view the sleepy ham closer.

"Snoozer! I figured you'd be here sleeping again, no wonder you got such a nickname."

The rippling girlish voice woke Snoozer from his snooze. Eyes still closed he turned to her, "so noisy."

Aine stopped laughing but kept a grin on her face, "sorry love, ain't gonna let you skip your chores today. Now come on now the festival is tomorrow!" Aine grabbed Snoozer by the ear and pulled him from his comfy sock, across the dirty floor to the door.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Snoozer yelled struggling against Aines forceful pull.

*

Snoozer sat on a small stone, a grim, strained expression clear on his face. He glanced down to his worked scuffed paws then felt something similar to a container pressed to his head. He looked up at a grinning Aine with a canister of water in her hand.

"You did a good job helping today, the festival will be glorious with your help!" Aines praise went unnoticed as Snoozer drank the whole canister. "Save some Snoozer you're not done working yet!"

Snoozer mad a dirty face, "what's this festival for anyway?"

"Seriously? It's the Cherry Blossom Festival you nitwit!"

Snoozer just grumbled as he stood back up to continue his work building stands for the festival shops.

"Snoozer?" Aine started, watching him. "Isn't it hard to work keeping your eyes closed the whole time?"

"Not really," Snoozer mumbled hammering a roof pole to a stands base. Aine nervously walked over and studied his work.

"C-could I possibly see you with your eyes opened for once?" She asked. Snoozer stopped his work and gave her a confused look. "I-I-It's okay, you really don't have to!" She quickly turned away nervously and ran off before Snoozer could get a word in. He watched her run off, back to the clubhouse probably, hearing another hamsters arrival behind him setting up a stand.

"Ah! Bother, that should do!" The fuzzy tan hamster announced excitedly. Snoozer stole a glance at her stand while he finished his work on the one in front of him. It was a jewelery stand, an odd choice for a festival it seemed, but the way it was arranged was beautiful. Definitely an eye catcher for sure. The tan hamster worked her way behind the stand to shuffle boxes around. Snoozer walked up then to look at her jewelery collections, a vast amount of cheap, shiny jewelery was all it was. It'll sell to children probably, only descent thing Snoozer could see was a string of pearls. Fake or not, they were lovely.

"Say; you open for business Molly?" Snoozer asked, Molly looked at him surprised.

"Uhm, I guess?" She answered moving boxes around.

*

"Snoozer! Just look at how many people are here! This festival is turning out great," Aine shouted excitedly gazing at the enormous amount of hamsters around. "I can't wait for the fireworks! This'll be great."

Snoozer smiled at Aines bubbly energy, he on the other hand would rather still be asleep. Aine forced him out of bed to come to the festival, then again he had something he wanted to say to her too.

" 'Scuse me miss?" A weary old ham dragging a huge cart with him spoke to Aine. "Where do you want the rest of these fireworks?"

"Right over here! Here, I'll show you," Aine lead the old hamster and his cart of fireworks to the old shed where the fireworks were kept until it was time to shoot them off.

Snoozer waited impatiently for her return, if she dragged him to this festival then she at least had to stay with him! He fiddled with the pearls in his hands behind his back, he decided to wait right until the firework show to give her the pearls. Aine broke up his thoughts with her return, apologizing for leaving before grabbing his paw.

"Come on! Let's do every thing here twice!" She squealed, her eyes sparkling. "The rides, the stands.. I want to win a giant bag of sunflower seeds!"

"T-twice?" Snoozer groan questionably.

*

And what a day it was: fishing, ring tossing, Aine even somehow convinced Snoozer to enter a pie eating contest, unfortunately only carrying fifth place. But, it was finally time for the firework show to begin, Snoozer nervously fiddled with the pearls in the open field where other hamsters gathered to watch the show. Aine came back with the drinks she left to get.

"Hey, Snoozer," she stopped when she handed him the cup and noticed the pearls, "what you got there?"

Snoozer held the pearls outstretched to her, an embarrassed look on his face. Aine was shocked, blushes crept to her face as she waited for Snoozer to say something before accepting the gift.

"I, uh, got these for you.." Snoozer managed to say. It was enough for Aine, she accepted the pearls with a charmful smile. Snoozer watched her fasten the pearly beads around her neck. It was a lovely contrast with her cream and burnt chester fur. She gazed lovingly at them, barely touching her paw to them before take Snoozers paw in hers.

"Oh, Snoozer.. they're lovely! Thank you." Her thanks brought a smile to Snoozers sleepy face. "I-if it's not too much trouble; could I ask for one more gift?"

Snoozer thought about it, and figure he already know what it was she wanted. Snoozer grabbed both of Aines paws, and placed his face close to Aines, barely a breath away.

And he opened his eyes.

Aine took an audible intake of breath, "Snoozer your eyes are beautiful!" The remark made Snoozer blush. His eyes were a sparkling crystal grey, dulled from tiredness. "Oh, Snoozer never open your eyes for anyone but me,."

Snoozer made a odd face at that, but nodded and yawned, closing his eyes once more. Aine giggled, "I almost forgot! I have something," Aine stopped when she noticed her paws were empty. "Oh no! I must've forgotten it in the shed when the fireworks came!" Snoozer smiled, Aine was flustered and started running off, "stay put I'll be right back!"

"Be quick they're already setting up to shot off the fireworks," Snoozer called back.

*

"Tom let's not do this! We'll get caught," a young grey hamster called to another black fured one. They had just snuck into the old fireworks shed, with the plan of lighting firecrackers around the edges of the carts where the fireworks were placed, just to scare the hamsters that came to fetch the fireworks.

"Don't be such a wuss!" Tom snapped back, having trouble starting the lighter. The grey one became even more nervous.

"But! What if someone gets hurt?" The grey hamster whined worriedly. All his whining made Tom even more frustrated then the lighter was, but when he turned to snap yet again at the grey hamster the opening of the shed door cut him off quickly. "Shoot," he mumbled standing up. He quickly began clicking the lighter.

*

Aine enter in a hurry, quickly looking for the gift she made Snoozer. It was just a small packet of seeds in a clear bag tied with a lovely ribbon she made herself at her mothers shop. He'd love it either way, she'd make sure of it. Aine quickly looked every where on the long small table for her gift, she found it beneath a rag. Excitedly she quickly grabbed it and turned for the door, but noticed a splotch of black fur in the corner of her eye. What Aine saw when she turned her head terrified her. Tom finally completely frustrated had stood up facing the fireworks clicking the lighter rapidly, trying to get it start. The grey hamster had a bruise oh his face and seemed near tears.

"No, stop that! It's dangerous!" Aine called franticly a bit too late. The lighter finally started but the spill of flames that emerged from it caught the cloth covering the fireworks on fire. The fire quickly covered the brittle dry cloth and set the fireworks off. Tom and the grey hamster screamed and ran when the fireworks started shooting off in a blazing colorful dismay. Aine wasn't so lucky, the child hamster Tom had knocked her off balance and before she could stand back up the fireworks furious display had taken half the small shed to flames. The smoke was thick and filled Aines lungs quickly. Coughing deeply she stumbled away from the fire to the farthest wall. Banging on the walls, trying either to get someones attention or to knock down a wall.

"Help!" Aine trying yelling, sucking in more of the black smoke and coughing hazardously.

Snoozer didn't know what to do when people had said the shed caught fire. He didn't know what else to think about when they pulled Aine out. He didn't know what to say when the doctors said her lungs had been damaged deeply by the smoke. He didn't know what he could hear if he couldn't hear her voice. He didn't even know he could sleep.

The gift Aine had managed to save from the fire was burnt, the ribbon was only half tarnished though, Snoozer kept it hidden in his favorite sleeping sock. His way of trying to hear her voice in his head. Visiting in the hospital only worsened the pain, the sad smile that came to her face at every visit, the hesitate letters she formed slowly with her hands, the way her beautiful cream fur was infested with ash. It all torn him apart, and she knew it.

Once she was released from the hospital, she still couldn't talk. Every moment when she tried to speak burned her throat to the point she hacked blood, and every word unsaid to Snoozer burned her even further. Snoozer couldn't read the letters she tried so hard to form with her burned, peeling hands. Aine had never learned to write with the poor income her mother made. She wanted him to know what she wanted to say to him that faithful day, but not anymore, she had to do something else. Even the thought of it made her cry and sob in her burning throat.

Early in the morning, after she had lovingly polished her pearls to shine as best as the dull beads could, she gathered her things and waited outside the 'clubhouse' tree entrance for Snoozer. He didn't come up soon, which she had expected, but still every moment she waited was nothing but agony. When he had finally emerged from the dirt hole, Aine took a deep, burning breath and smiled. Snoozer returned the smile, but it wasn't real. He noticed the bags, and stared hard at them.

"Are you leaving?" His voice carried disbelief, and his eyes never left the bags. Aine bite her lip, bringing her hands up high for Snoozer to see. Snoozer looked at her, but she didn't say anything with her hands, she just nodded.

"I'll miss you.." He mumbled.

Aine felt like crying, her eyes bubbled with tears. But she wouldn't allow it, that's not how she wanted him to remember her. She wanted to be remember as the strong, talkative girl she use to be. Aine blinked the tears away and started forming the letters she wanted to say slowly. Snoozer stared hard at her hands trying to make sense of them.

The first was her just her pinkie finger sticking out.

Second was what looked like an 'L'?

Third was an, 'O'?

Fourth was two fingers facing up and spread apart.

Fifth, looked like funny fist.

Sixth was both her thumb and pinkie finger staying out from the fist.

Another 'O'.

The last letter she formed was her index and middle finger staying up. After which she brought her paw to her mouth and pushed it away from her lips toward Snoozer.

Like blowing a kiss.

She turned and left. Starting her long journey down the dirty path. Aine wanted to find her voice, once she did, she'll come back. _She'll come back._

Snoozer couldn't watch her leave, he wasn't sure what she had said, but he thought he had an idea. He just wasn't sure he should return it right now. But Snoozer knew of one thing he could do.

Wait for her, and keep his eyes closed from all of the others, no matter how long it took for her to come home.

Snoozer returned to the 'clubhouse', wrapped up in his favorite sock with Aines ribbon close to him and slept. He'll sleep until her noisy, beautiful voice woke him up once more.

_Oh, Snoozer never open your eyes for anyone but me._

Always.


End file.
